Tutoring Services

"You are the reason that Amy has gotten as far as she has. She has taken her reading notebook from your tutoring and is using what she learned. She is teaching the other children at school the reading rules you taught her."

                            -- Parent of a fifth grader

"We want to thank you so much for all your work with our son. The results are amazing ... both his reading and his self-esteem! He is now in the highest reading group."   

                            -- Parent of a Kindergarten student

• Help your child or the adult learner to read fluently and without embarrassment
• Help your child or the adult learner to confidently decode unknown words
• Develop Spelling Accuracy, so that written communication will be improved
• Improve Grammar, Capitalization Skills, and Punctuation Skills.

• Tutoring is conducted with specialized Orton-Gillingham based teaching methodologies. The tutoring program contains all the content and follows all of the principals of instruction of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council:

• Phonology and Phonological Awareness
• Sound-Symbol Association
• Syllable Instruction
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Fluency
• Semantics (Comprehension)

• Phonemic Awareness – hearing and processing individual sounds
• Reading Words by Blending Sounds
• Syllable Types Instruction
• Morphology Instruction – Learning the Meaning of Words by Understanding the Meaning of their parts (Prefixes, Suffixes, Greek and Latin Root Words)
• Vocabulary Improvement
• Reading Comprehension Strategies
• Fluency Improved Through the Reading of Controlled Texts
• Phrasing Practice When Reading Out Loud
• Automatic Recognition of High Frequency Sight Words
• Spelling Words by Hearing Sounds
• Spelling Dictated Words and Sentences
• Multi-sensory Instruction for Spelling of Common Sight Words
• Grammar
• Punctuation

• Simultaneous Multisensory
• Systematic and Cumulative
• Direct Instruction
• Diagnostic Teaching
• Synthetic and Analytic Instruction

HEARING:

• Phonemic Awareness Activities
• Spelling Sounds, Words, and Sentences
• Blending Words Together
• Processing Separate Sounds

SEEING:

• Sound-Symbol Associations Using Color Coded Tiles for Letters and Letter Groups
• Color Coded Print
• Diacritical Markings of Words
• Color Coded Spelling Aids
• Visualization for Spelling Sight Words
• Sight Word Learning Aids with Drawings
• Reading Controlled Texts

KINETIC (FEELING)

• Finger Spelling
• Touch and Say Technique
• Slowly Blend Technique
• Writing with Fingers on Table
• Sky Writing

In most cases, a struggling reader can be brought to the mid-ninth grade level in reading, spelling, and basic writing by completing all ten levels.

• Help your child or the adult learner to understand and remember what they read
• Stimulate concept imagery and higher-order thinking skills
• Identify critical reading strategies

The Reading Comprehension program utilizes Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking® (V/V®) and cognitive –skill training exercise to improve comprehension and retention of written and oral material.

• Building Accurate Visual Imagery of Concrete Objects, Words, Sentences, and Passages
• Strengthening Concept Imagery
• Develop Critical Thinking Skills to Answer High-Order Reading Comprehension Questions
• Proven Meta-Cognitive Strategies for Improving Comprehension

These brain exercises improve:

• Attention
• Left/Right Brain Integration
• Sequencing skills
• Spatial Relationships
• Visual memory
• Visualization skills
• Vocabulary

• Help children and adults struggling with reading and spelling to also be able to express themselves through the written word
• Improve written expression, grammar, mechanics (punctuation, capitalization)
• Develop ability to write paragraphs, reports, essays, term papers

• Tutoring using one or more of the following programs: Easy Grammar, Easy Writing, National Writing Institute’s Writing Strands, Writing Skills, Any Child Can Write, and Understanding Writing
• Tutoring to improve written expression
• Assistance with report writing
• Instruction to improve grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and word usage

• Develop organization, memorization, and note taking skills
• Develop review techniques
• Improve test taking skills

• Tutoring to improve study skills interwoven with other academic instruction
• Formal eight-week study skills course covering the following units:

1. What Smart Students Know

• Attitude check
• Getting organized
• Getting started

2. Learning Strategies – Recording

• Listening and concentrating tips
• Note taking

3. Learning Strategies – Retaining

• Improving memory
• Review strategies

4. Learning Strategies – Retrieving

• Getting ready for the test
• Test taking strategies